Fix uninstall failing on subuid-owned data - #1495
Open
JoeJoeflyn wants to merge 4 commits into
Open
Conversation
Containers write files as a subuid inside the rootless user namespace, so os.RemoveAll fails on mysql, redis and others. Fall back to podman unshare rm -rf, which enters the user namespace where the files are removable.
JoeJoeflyn
force-pushed
the
fix/1489-uninstall-subuid-data
branch
from
August 13, 2026 14:03
b74e393 to
1ff288f
Compare
The Go uninstall was routed through the user namespace but the installer was not, and the installer is where this was reported. Both cmd_uninstall_linux and cmd_uninstall_macos removed the data directory with a plain rm, so the first service tree written as a subuid failed and, under set -e, took the whole script down with it. By that point the binary and the units were already gone, so the user was left holding a directory they could not delete and nothing to help them do it. Both paths now go through remove_lerd_dir, which retries the removal under podman unshare and keeps the uninstall running to its success line either way. When even the user namespace cannot clear the directory, the uninstall says which one survived and prints the command to remove it by hand, rather than reporting a removal that did not happen. The Go path reports the same way instead of printing a tick over a directory that is still on disk.
install.sh derives the config and data directories from XDG_CONFIG_HOME and XDG_DATA_HOME and only falls back to HOME when those are unset, so overriding HOME on its own left the suite pointing at the real directories on any machine where they are set. Nothing executed a removal against them, but the isolation held by luck rather than by construction. The setup now clears the XDG variables alongside HOME, and the first test asserts both directories land inside the throwaway one, so a change that reintroduces the leak fails here instead of on someone's disk.
This file contains hidden or bidirectional Unicode text that may be interpreted or compiled differently than what appears below. To review, open the file in an editor that reveals hidden Unicode characters.
Learn more about bidirectional Unicode characters
Sign up for free
to join this conversation on GitHub.
Already have an account?
Sign in to comment
2 participants
Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.This suggestion is invalid because no changes were made to the code.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is closed.Suggestions cannot be applied while viewing a subset of changes.Only one suggestion per line can be applied in a batch.Add this suggestion to a batch that can be applied as a single commit.Applying suggestions on deleted lines is not supported.You must change the existing code in this line in order to create a valid suggestion.Outdated suggestions cannot be applied.This suggestion has been applied or marked resolved.Suggestions cannot be applied from pending reviews.Suggestions cannot be applied on multi-line comments.Suggestions cannot be applied while the pull request is queued to merge.Suggestion cannot be applied right now. Please check back later.
Containers write files as a subuid inside the rootless user namespace, so os.RemoveAll fails on mysql, redis and others. Fall back to podman unshare rm -rf, which enters the user namespace where the files are removable.
The installer's own uninstall had the same plain removal in both cmd_uninstall_linux and cmd_uninstall_macos, and there it ran under set -e, so the first service tree it could not delete aborted the script before any success line. By that point the binary and the units were already gone, leaving a directory the user could not remove and nothing left to help them do it. Both paths now go through remove_lerd_dir.
Neither path claims a removal that did not happen any more. When even the user namespace cannot clear the directory, the uninstall names the one that survived and prints the command to run by hand.
Closes #1489
Closes #1280